The neo-Western?Hell or High Water?is one of the funniest, saddest, most exciting, thought-provoking films I’ve seen this year. Wrapped around the story of two brothers’ attempts to rob banks, this wildly different film shares their relationship, the saga of the nearly-retired Texas Ranger?on their heels, and the way that the U.S. economy plays a part…
This isn?t about being pro-war. The war is happening. This is about being pro-money.–Efraim In his latest film,?The Hangover?trilogy director Todd Philips dramatizes the unlikely rise of Efraim Diveroli (Jonah Hill) and David Packouz (Miles Teller), who found loopholes in the military’s use of privately-owned weapons to build a gun-running empire. As international arms dealers,…
HACKSAW RIDGE tells the story of Desmond Doss, a conscientious objector in WWII who earned the Congressional Medal of Honour by ?rescuing 75 men as a medic. This week, Steve has the privilege to speak with the film’s producer Terry Benedict about Doss’ life and the relationship between faith and war. A very special thanks…
I want to thank the staff and volunteers of AFIFest for the wonderful event.
One of the joys of film festivals is the chance to see the similarities and differences of cultures. That sometimes applies to the subcultures of American life we see as well. But it is especially true in foreign films.
Burt Kennedy, the director behind?Support Your Local Sheriff!?and a host of others (including?Suburban Commando), delivered Raquel Welch in the titular role of Hannie Caulder. Caulder is the victim first – as she watches her husband murdered, her ranch torched, and her body left broken and for dead – before she becomes the force of vigilante…
Marlon Brando directed one film, One-Eyed Jacks. The short version: in 1961, he adapted Guy Trosper’s (The Pride of St. Louis) script into a film that he largely shaped in his own way, with cinematographer Charles Lang nominated for an Academy Award (after Stanley Kubrick and Sam Peckinpah were removed from their respective roles). The…
Yesterday I had a really interesting sandwich: a dark brooding film from one of my favorite Romanian directors placed between two animated films.
A new extended trailer for the upcoming live action Beauty and the Beast hit the internet Monday. The new preview (embedded below) adds some enticing details, including looks at Maurice, Gaston, and LeFou. From the short clips, it seems Maurice, played by Kevin Kline, is a much more stable and wise father than the lovable…
The messy art of politics is the basis of John Madden?s film Miss Sloane. Elizabeth Sloane (Jessica Chastain) is a high powered DC lobbyist. When offered a chance to represent the gun lobby against a bill to require background checks, she leaves the firm she works for to go to a smaller firm to fight…
